Motilal Rajvansh (4 December 1910 – 17 June 1965) was an Indian actor and the winner of Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for '' Devdas'' (1955) and '' Parakh'' (1960). He is credited with being among Hindi cinema's first natural actors. He also directed the film ''

Chhoti Chhoti Baten ''Chhoti Chhoti Baten'' is a 1965 Indian Hindi family drama film directed by actor Motilal. It was his only film as director, writer and producer under his home banner, Rajvanshi Productions. It starred Motilal, Nadira and Moti Sagar in lead ...

'' (1965), but died before its release. At the

13th National Film Awards The 13th National Film Awards, then known as State Awards for Films, presented by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India to felicitate the best of Indian Cinema released in 1965. Starting with 13th National Film Awards, a new award ...

, it won the award for Certificate of Merit for the Third Best Feature Film and he posthumously won the Certificate of Merit for the Best Story Writer.

Early life and background

Born in

Shimla Shimla (; ; also known as Simla, the official name until 1972) is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared as the summer capital of British India. After independence, ...

on 4 December 1910, Motilal came from a distinguished family. His father was a renowned educationist, who died when Motilal was one year old. He was brought up by his uncle who was a well-known civil surgeon in

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 195 ...

. At first, Moti was sent to an English school at Shimla and later, in Uttar Pradesh (UP). Thereafter, he shifted to Delhi where he continued with school and college.

Acting career

Motilal Rajvansh said of his screen career with characteristic humour: Motilal in the film Armaan

After leaving college, Moti came to

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

to join the Navy, but he fell ill and could not appear for the test. Fate had other choices charted out for him. One day, he went to see a film shoot at Sagar Studios, where director K. P. Ghosh was shooting. Motilal, even then, was quite the man about the town and he caught Ghosh's eye. In 1934 (aged 24), he was offered the hero's role in '' Shaher Ka Jadoo'' (1934) by the Sagar Film Company. He later featured in several successful social dramas alongside Sabita Devi, including '' Dr. Madhurika'' (1935) and '' Kulvadhu'' (1937). He worked with

Mehboob Khan Mehboob Khan (born Mehboob Khan Ramzan Khan; 9 September 1907
at filmreference.com. – 28 ...

in '' Jagirdar'' (1937) and '' Hum Tum Aur Woh'' (1938) under the Sagar Movietone banner, in ''Taqdeer'' (1943) for Mehboob Productions, and Kidar Sharma's ''Armaan'' (1942) and ''Kaliyan'' (1944). He also acted in S. S. Vasan's film '' Paigham'' (1959) (Gemini Studios), and Raj Kapoor's '' Jagte Raho'' (1956). In 1965, he also acted in the Bhojpuri film ''Solaho Singar Kare Dulhaniya.'' Perhaps the role for which he received the most critical appreciation was that of the gentleman crook in S. S. Vasan's adaptation of R K Narayan's book ''

Mr Sampat ''Mr. Sampat'' is a 1952 Indian Hindi-language satire (film and television), satirical film produced and directed by S. S. Vasan of Gemini Studios. It is based on R. K. Narayan's 1949 novel ''Mr. Sampath – The Printer of Malgudi'', and ...

'' (1952). He is most remembered for his role as "Chunni Babu" in Bimal Roy's ''Devdas'' (1955), for which he won his first Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award. Actor Naseeruddin Shah once described him as one of three all-time best actors of Hindi cinema, others being Balraj Sahni and

Yakub Yakub or Yaqub ( ar, يعقوب‎, Yaʿqūb or Ya'kūb , links=no, also transliterated in other ways) is a male given name. It is the Arabic version of Jacob and James. The Arabic form ''Ya'qūb/Ya'kūb'' may be direct from the Hebrew or indire ...

Personal life

Motilal was very suave and polished, and moved in high society, though towards the end of his life he was in financial difficulty. Although a thorough gentleman, he enjoyed gambling and races, and died almost penniless in 1965. He was in a relationship for several years with the actress Nadira. He was later involved with actress

Shobhna Samarth Shobhana Samarth (17 November 1916 – 9 February 2000) was an Indian actress, director and producer who began her career in the early days of talkie movies in the Hindi film industry and continued in lead roles into the 1950s. She started i ...

after she separated from her husband, and he played Samarth's real-life daughter Nutan's father in ''Hamari Beti'', Shobhana's launch movie for Nutan. He also played her guardian in '' Anari'', though this time the role had a villainous touch to it.

Tribute

Amitabh Bachchan wrote in the foreword of ''The Hundred Luminaries of Hindi Cinema'': "Not much has been written in praise of a great and very natural actor. He (Motilal) was greatly ahead of his times. Were he alive today his sheer versatility would have ensured a place for him even now. In fact, he would be doing much better than many of us." Motilal Rajvansh 2013 stamp of India

Filmography

Actor

# '' Yeh Zindagi Kitni Haseen Hai'' (1966) # ''

'' (1965) # '' Waqt'' (1965) # ''Solaho Singar Kare Dulhaniya'' (Bhojpuri) (1965) # '' Ji Chahta Hai'' (1964) # ''

Leader Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets v ...

'' (1964) # '' Yeh Rastey Hain Pyar Ke'' (1963) # ''

Asli-Naqli ''Asli-Naqli'' () is a 1962 Hindi film produced by L.B Lachman and L.B Thakur. The film is directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and stars Dev Anand, Sadhana, Leela Chitnis, Anwar Hussain, Sandhya Roy and Keshto Mukherjee. The film's music is by ...

'' (1962) # '' Parakh'' (1960) # '' Anari'' (1959) # '' Paigham'' (1959) # ''

Ab Dilli Dur Nahin ''Ab Dilli Dur Nahin'' (''Now Delhi is not far away'') is a 1957 Indian Hindi-language film directed by Amar Kumar and written by Rajinder Singh Bedi, Muhafiz Hyder and Raj Baldev Raj. The film was produced by Raj Kapoor and starred Yakub, A ...

'' (1957) # '' Jagte Raho'' (1956) # '' Devdas'' (1955) # ''

Dhoon ''Dhoon'' (Tune or Passion) is a 1953 Bollywood film directed by M. Kumar. The film was produced by Silver Kings, a production company formed by Kumar and his then wife, actress Pramila. The film stars Raj Kapoor, Nargis, Motilal, Kumar, Prami ...

'' (1953) # '' Ek Do Teen'' (1953) # '' Apni Izzat'' (1952) # '' Mr. Sampat'' (1952) # '' Hamari Beti'' (1950) # '' Hanste Aansoo'' (1950) # '' Ek Thi Ladki'' (1949) # ''Lekh'' (1949) # '' Gajre'' (1948) # '' Mera Munna'' (1948) # '' Aaj Ki Raat'' (1948) # ''

Do Dil Do, DO or D.O. may refer to: Languages * The English verb, ''do'', which may serve as an auxiliary verb; see do-support * ''Do'' (kana), a mora symbol in Japanese writing * Ditto mark People * Đỗ, a Vietnamese surname * Do (surname), includ ...

'' (1947) # '' Phoolwari'' (1946) # ''Pehli Nazar'' (1945) # '' Dost'' (1944) # '' Mujrim'' (1944) # ''

Raunaq ''Raunaq'' is a 1944 Bollywood film directed by Dwarka Khosla and starring Chandraprabha, Noor Mohammad Charlie (billed as Charlie), Chandra Mohan, Motilal and Subarnalata Subarnalata. It was released in 1944 Events Below, the events ...

'' (1944) # '' Umang'' (1944) # '' Aage Kadam'' (1943) # '' Taqdeer'' (1943) # '' Tasveer'' (1943) # '' Armaan'' (1942) # '' Pardesi'' (1941) # '' Sasural'' (1941) # '' Achhut'' (1940) # ''

Holi Holi (), also known as the Festival of Colours, the Festival of Spring, and the Festival of Love,The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) p. 874 "Holi /'həʊli:/ noun a Hindu spring festival ...". is an ancient Hindu religious festival ...

'' (1940) # ''

Aap Ki Marzi ''Aap Ki Marzi'' () is 1939 Hindi romantic comedy film directed by Sarvottam Badami. The film was produced under the Sudama Productions banner. The music composer was Gyan Dutt with lyrics credited to Pyare Lal Santoshi and S. P. Kalla. It starr ...

'' (1939) # '' Sach Hai'' (1939) # '' Hum Tum Aur Woh'' (1938) # ''

Teen Sau Din Ke Baad ''Teen Sau Din Ke Baad'' () is a 1938 Hindi social comedy film directed by Sarvottam Badami. This was Badami's first comedy film and it was a success at the box-office; he went on to direct two more comedies after this, '' Aap Ki Marzi'' (1939) a ...

'' (1938) # '' Captain Kirti Kumar'' (1937) # '' Jagirdar'' (1937) # '' Kulvadhu'' (1937) # '' Kokila'' (1937) # '' Dilawar'' (1936) # ''

Do Diwane ''Do Diwane'' (Two Rogues) also known as ''Be Kharab Jaan'', is a 1936 Hindi comedy film directed by Chimanlal Luhar based on K. M. Munshi's famous play ''Be Kharab Jaan''. The film was produced by Sagar Movietone and had music composed by Pran ...

'' (1936) # '' Jeevan Lata'' (1936) # '' Lagna Bandhan'' (1936) # ''

Do Ghadi Ki Mauj Do, DO or D.O. may refer to: Languages * The English verb, ''do'', which may serve as an auxiliary verb; see do-support * Do (kana), ''Do'' (kana), a mora symbol in Japanese writing * Ditto mark People * Đỗ, a Vietnamese surname * Do (surname) ...

'' (1935) # '' Dr. Madhurika'' (1935) # '' Silver King'' (1935) # '' Shaher Ka Jadoo'' (1934) # '' Vatan Parasta'' (1934)

Director

# ''

'' (1965)

References

External links

*

* http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/A-trip-down-memory-lane-with-actor-Motilal/articleshow/47697183.cms {{DEFAULTSORT:Motilal 1910 births 1965 deaths Indian male film actors Male actors in Hindi cinema People from Shimla 20th-century Indian male actors Hindi-language film directors Male actors from Himachal Pradesh Film directors from Himachal Pradesh 20th-century Indian film directors Best Story National Film Award winners Filmfare Awards winners